A Product with a Story: GoMacro’s MacroBar

When GoMacro Co-Founder Amelia Kirchoff was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, her daughter, Jola Sonkin, immediately began researching diet-based alternatives to drug treatments. The family embraced the macrobiotic diet, and as she recovered, Amelia experimented on her farm with growing fruits and grains, which she made into macrobiotic-friendly desserts and bars. Her creations were a hit.

In 2004, MacroBar was born. Business quickly outgrew their small home kitchen and the commercial kitchen they’d installed in the barn, so production soon moved to a larger facility in nearby Viola, population 689.

On their website they write, “We believe that food and food quality impact health, happiness and well-being for all,” and GoMacro walks the talk. The carefully selected ingredients that go into a MacroBar show the family’s concern for people as well as our planet. MacroBars are USDA Certified Organic, Certified Gluten-Free, Certified Vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified, and contain no additives or preservatives.

To round this lovely story out, Amelia seems to be doing well more than a decade after her diagnosis. She runs the day-to-day operations of GoMacro and is an avid gardener, environmentalist and animal lover. She and her husband take care of numerous animals as well as a large garden and orchards on their 120-acre organic farm.

Wendy Allen is digital editor, copy editor, and a writer for Edible Madison. She reads style guides for fun, believes stories have power, and is fascinated by the evolution of the English language—for better or worse. Her mission: to wrestle the wily comma into submission.